Homes hold some of our most sacred memories. Nancy Chapin helps her clients pass along the torch to the next family. "When people hand me the keys at the end of a conversation, I know it's not about the keys, it's not even about the house. It's about the legacy. It's about the history. It's about passing on a life to the next person, the next family, the next generation."

The Oregon economy has regained its traditional job growth advantage relative to the nation with employment growth running about one percent higher than a typical state. With the expansion in employment—in concert with rising wages—the economy appears to be in good shape. Although not yet at full employment, the direction is very positive.

There has been a lot of buzz in the news recently suggesting that millennials will forever be renters and not homeowners. Reasons for this theory include amenities that apartments offer, flexibility when it comes to moving and changing jobs, and inability to afford a home given the crushing student debt load many are carrying. So will this be the renter generation? Let’s take a look at the data.

You’ve found the home you can see yourself living in, now what? There are several steps to the buying process you will go through before you can officially call it your own.